USDANEWS                                                           VOLUME 58 NO.1 - JANUARY 1999

Editor's Roundup
USDA people in the news

The phrase "train the trainers" recently took on a whole new meaning for residents of Brazil--and Denise Decker was the catalyst who made it happen.

Decker, a quality management specialist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service, has been a member since 1987 of "Partners of the Americas." "It's an international volunteer organization," she said, "which promotes information exchanges-- economic, social, and cultural--throughout North, Central, and South America by partnering a U.S. state with a Latin American country or city." She noted that, for instance, the District of Columbia--where she lives--is partnered with Brasilia, Brazil.

"However," she observed, "Brazil has a culture where volunteerism, as it relates to helping people with disabilities, is relatively new."

Accordingly, Decker, assisted by her Seeing Eye Dog Quadrant, recently headed up a "Partners" project to train volunteers to help people with disabilities in Brasilia, the capital of Brazil.

"Some residents of that city had wanted to set up a volunteer center to train volunteers who, among other efforts, would then help local citizens with disabilities," she explained. "But they admitted that they didn't have the experience or information they needed to make it happen."

So Decker first surveyed U.S. organizations, such as Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind and Volunteer Readers for the Blind, and conferred with staffers at Gallaudet College in Washington, DC, to assess what approaches might be helpful--and, of equal importance, adaptable--in Brasilia.

"To be successful, we needed to be mindful of the culture of the country," she advised. "For instance, unlike in the U.S., there isn't a ready source of guide dogs in Brazil, and current laws generally don't mandate, promote, or even encourage the idea that guide dogs should be permitted in public buildings there."

"Second, some blind or visually impaired residents of Brazil use white canes, as we do in this country. But drivers of vehicles generally aren't sensitized to watch for the canes and/or the people using them."

"If that were done," she underscored, "it would promote a safer environment for persons with disabilities, help ensure they're not ignored by drivers of buses and taxis, and, in general, promote independent mobility."

Decker noted that "Partners" paid for her travel and lodging, while NRCS provided her with a week of administrative leave as job-related formal training to travel onsite to set up initial logistics. NRCS then provided another week of administrative leave when she formally launched the week-long "train the trainer" sessions for volunteers 18 months later.

As part of the project, which was called "Encouraging Independence," she helped establish a formal volunteer training program onsite. Specifically, she led the trainers through strategy sessions on such issues as how to broaden and strengthen Brazil's currently existing laws on disability issues; promote innovations like captioning TV programs; work with local news reporters to focus on success stories--or the lack thereof; initiate fundraising activities; and develop sensitivity to, and awareness of, the rights of Brazilians with disabilities.

Decker noted that, since her recent return, on weekends she keeps in touch with her contacts at "Partners of the Americas," who provide her with e-mail message updates outlining progress that the volunteers have made in their onsite activities. This has included training 320 volunteers to provide assistance to disadvantaged children and adults, including those with disabilities.

"That helps me realize our work there wasn't just a one-time effort," she advised.

Decker said that she is aware of similar international initiatives by other USDA employees in such countries as Russia. "But to my knowledge," she speculated, "I may have the honor of being the first USDA employee who has organized this particular type of assistance to help other persons with disabilities in a foreign country--and to ensure that the assistance is ongoing." 

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